"!"
The Marsh Maw shook off the mud from its body. Its two gigantic, fist-sized beast eyes were filled with cruelty.
Staring at Lyle and the other, it let out a roar and charged forward with its gaping maw.
Bang!
The Fire Archangel that hadn't been knocked away rushed forward, vigorously swinging its flame sword, heavily striking the Marsh Maw's head.
However,
the Marsh Maw, covered in thick layers of mud and moss, surprisingly sustained no injuries from the flame sword's attack, which was imbued with fire and holy energy.
Only the force of the flame sword's blow momentarily halted the Marsh Maw's forward movement.
"!"
The Marsh Maw twisted its head, deflecting the flame sword that had struck its crown. At the same time, it raised its heavy, thick forelimb and forcefully smacked at the Fire Archangel.
Flap!
The Fire Archangel's wings vibrated, and it soared into the air, evading the Marsh Maw's attack.
Concurrently,
the other Fire Archangel, which had been knocked away, now flew back and attacked simultaneously.
Under the assault of the two Fire Archangels,
the Marsh Maw was forced to stop, letting out roars and swinging its forelimbs and tail in retaliation. However, facing the flying Fire Archangels, most of its attacks missed their mark.
For a moment, as neither could harm the other, a stalemate ensued.
Seeing this scene,
Renas's eyes showed a look of surprise. These two Fire Archangels were incredibly strong.
The Marsh Maw was one of the top-tier monsters in this swamp, requiring at least a "Mithril-rank" adventurer team to contend with it.
And now!
Just two Fire Archangels had actually forced the Marsh Maw into a defensive state. If not for the Marsh Maw's naturally tough hide and the layers of swamp mud acting as armor,
it's likely that these two Fire Archangels alone would be able to kill this swamp crocodile.
"Attack its eyes," Lyle's voice came from behind.
The two Fire Archangels' somewhat chaotic attacks paused, and they simultaneously turned their wings, attacking the Marsh Maw's eyes.
In just a moment,
the Marsh Maw let out a painful roar, its body twisting wildly, and it began to retreat.
But how could Lyle let this easy experience slip away? Monsters around level 20 were quite rare.
Under Lyle's deliberate control, the two Fire Archangels exploited the opening created by the Marsh Maw's retreat, after its eyes were wounded and it was blinded.
Both flame swords simultaneously pierced into the Marsh Maw's head through its eyes!
"Roar!!!"
The Marsh Maw's entire body trembled violently, its mournful wail abruptly ceased, and it crashed to the ground.
'Experience gained: 3103'
[Experience Bar: 7405 / 10000]
Lyle's mood immediately brightened as he saw the surge in experience on the panel.
However, looking at the Marsh Maw's corpse, he couldn't help but feel a bit of regret.
If Renas hadn't been by his side, he would have collected the Marsh Maw's corpse.
Although a level 20 monster didn't have any special abilities, its characteristic of having a tough hide and thick flesh was far superior to the Ogre corpses stored in his inventory.
It would be an excellent material for "Undead Manipulation."
Renas took a deep breath, turned, and looked at Lyle, a complex expression in her blue eyes: "Who exactly are you?"
It wasn't that the Fire Archangels were strong!
It was the summoner's own strength that allowed him to summon powerful summons.
Given his strength, coupled with the alchemy he had previously demonstrated, he should not be unknown.
Lyle, who was regretting the Marsh Maw's corpse, was suddenly asked by Renas and didn't react for a moment. However, after noticing Renas's astonished gaze,
he seemed to realize something.
"A genius alchemist, a faith-based magic caster, or—
Lyle shrugged his shoulders, reached out, and picked up the bronze plaque hanging from his waist, saying jokingly,
"A Bronze-rank adventurer."
Renas didn't find anything wrong with the first two titles, but upon hearing the last one,
Renas's delicate pink lips twitched violently.
"If I were the Adventurers' Guild Master, I would definitely change the rule that the Adventurers' Guild requires completing quests to raise adventurer ranks."
Renas gritted her teeth and spoke forcefully.
"Ancient rules have their reasons for enduring to this day."
Lyle chuckled, "I actually think this rule of the Adventurers' Guild is quite good."
This rule might seem inhumane, as even some powerful individuals need to start as low-rank adventurers
and begin by completing quests.
But from the perspective of those in power, this seemingly inhumane rule is itself a screening process.
His half-joking tone made the sense of alienation that had just arisen in Renas's heart dissipate once more.
"Let's go."
Lyle raised his hand and beckoned.
The two Fire Archangels flew over, and the two continued to fly deeper into the swamp in the same manner.
As they gradually went deeper,
the swampy terrain slowly disappeared, and the shrubs grew from low to tall, revealing the deep jungle area.
"Goo—goo—"
"Roar—doo—"
Along with it came the various cries of beasts or monsters from deep within the jungle.
A faint white mist appeared in mid-air.
"It's getting foggy," Renas said, her expression grave, as she warned him.
"Then let's descend."
Lyle also noticed a large bank of fog in the distance.
!!
The two Fire Archangels carried Lyle and Renas down from mid-air, landing in an area overgrown with weeds.
"Hmmph!"
As soon as Renas landed, she suddenly let out a soft grunt, pressing her right hand against the cheek covered by her blonde hair, and groaned in pain.
A piece of decaying flesh, not entirely covered, was exposed to the air. One could clearly see it subtly writhing.
Lyle also felt an anomaly.
To be precise, he sensed that his own curse power also seemed to be stirring.
There's something wrong with this place!
Lyle's gaze sharpened as he looked at Renas: "Are you alright?"
"This—this place gives me the same feeling as the monster that attacked me back then,"
Renas lowered the hand pressing against her right cheek, enduring the ant-like gnawing pain on her cheek, and looked up, speaking with cold eyes.
"Ha-hoo!"
"Ha-hoo!"
"Ha-hoo!"
The low growls of beasts came from the nearby bushes.
Immediately after!
Three monsters, similar in size to adult hellhounds but with monstrous appearances, emerged from the bushes.
Seeing the appearance of these monsters,
Lyle subconsciously frowned. These three monsters were simply too ugly, too bizarre.
They had humanoid heads, but their teeth were incredibly sharp. Their bodies were similar to lions, and their humanoid heads were covered in thick manes.
Most bizarrely, these monsters' tails were like scorpions, covered in sharp spines, and they even had a pair of bat-like wings on their backs.
At first glance,
they looked like a combination of several different monsters.
"The strange monster you mentioned isn't this, is it?" Lyle looked at these three utterly monstrous creatures.
"No."
Renas raised her black spear and shook her head, "It's not. These three monsters are Manticore."
"Be careful, their tails can shoot spines. I'll take one, the remaining two are yours!"
As soon as Renas finished speaking, she had already raised her spear and charged towards the Manticore on the far right.
Since entering the swamp, she hadn't been much help, and these three monsters were a good opportunity to take one down.
"They look this bizarre, and they're not it?" Lyle swung his arm.
The two Fire Archangels immediately charged towards the other Manticore.
The battle process was severely inconsistent with the Manticore's monstrous appearance. In just a short while, the three Manticore were successively slain.
'Experience gained: 286'
'Experience gained: 301'
[Experience Bar: 7992 / 10000]
Lyle glanced at the experience points gained; their strength was similar to that of Ogres.
?
Lyle was suddenly startled. He distinctly felt a trace of curse power emanating from the two Manticore after their deaths.
And this curse power was actually absorbed by him.
Lyle quickly looked at his attribute panel, finding that neither the experience points nor any other data on the panel had changed.
However, he clearly felt that the curse power within his body had indeed increased somewhat.
"Ah!"
Renas, holding her blood-stained spear, suddenly let out a scream.
Lyle's expression changed, and he quickly rushed over. When he saw Renas's face, his gaze sharpened.
He saw that the curse, which had originally only covered half of her face, had actually begun to expand towards the right side of her face.
Seeing such a change,
Lyle had already realized that not only had he absorbed this curse power, but Renas had also absorbed it!
Or rather,
only those with the [Curse Knight] profession could perceive this curse power.